_ 89 _ ship thought that they were stuck merely because of the stockade, upon which the ship had settled, they therefore went to cut it down with axes. But this was no good either, because when they cut down part of a stake, the ship which was full of water, merely sank further and once more settled on the stakes, in spite of their having been shortened. When Dom Lourenco saw this, and that it was impossible to move it he sent his pilot below, to see what was happening. The pilot found the hull flooded, with all the rice floating about, and came back to Dom Lourenco looking very dismayed. He told him the state the ship was in, and that it was impossible to remove the water, because the rice prevented it, and they had neither the time nor enough men to throw it away by using buckets for most of the men were wounded. After this he went below deck, and it is said he died of fear. In spite of all this, Dom Lourenco sent people to find out if it was possible to stop any more water getting in. In the meantime, Meliquia’s pinnaces were approaching, Meliquias understood what had happened to Dom Lourenco’s ship and believing it to be as good as captured, sent some pinnaces to capture Payo de Sousa’s galley which was tied to Dom Lourenco’s in order to try and tow it.
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